COLUMBUS, Miss. – The Owls baseball team delivered its first shutout in the second game of a doubleheader against Rust College. The W played well in its season home opener to sweep the Bearcats 10-1 and 15-0.
GAME ONE
Senior pitcher
Logan Suggs received his second win on the mound, pitching 5.2 innings for 10 strikeouts with only one earned run.
Senior shortstop
Heath Ford had a perfect appearance at the plate, going 3-for-3 with four runs and three RBIs.
Blake Estabrook also stood out with a 3-for-4 appearance with three runs.
In game one, the Owls put two runs on the board early, with
Blake Estabrook scoring on a passed ball and Ford taking home on an error by the catcher.
The Owls added four runs in the second. Petite scored
Joel Estabrook on a single up the middle. Ford scored
Blake Estabrook, and Petite on another single up the middle then stole home.
In the fourth inning,
Hunter Harper collected an RBI on a single to third base, and
Damain Benefield recorded the last two RBIs of the game on a single that brought home Ford and
Blake Estabrook.
GAME TWO
Trey Petite lead the Owls at the plate with a 2-for-4 appearance for two runs and four RBIs. The Loxley, Ala. native hit his first home run of the season for three of his four RBIs.
Brady Jones pitched five innings for his third win of the season. The Louisville, Miss native recorded one strikeout, no earned runs, and three hits against.
In game two, Suggs stepped off the mound, played in the lineup, and immediately impacted the Owls offense. In the second inning, Suggs singled down the left line for two RBIs, bringing Harper and Benefield home.
Joel Estabrook followed Suggs with a double that allowed Suggs and
Collins Brown to score before returning home on a single to left-center by
Trey Petite. The Owls closed the side up 5-0.
With two on base in the fourth, Petite homered, scoring and bringing in
Matthew Bumpous and
Joel Estabrook. Bases-loaded walk scored
Blake Estabrook, and a bases-loaded balk brought in Ford.
Joel Estabrook tripled to right field to score Brown, Harper, and Benefield. The fourth inning closed with The W up 13-0 over Rust.
The Owls rounded out scoring in the sixth. After several substitutions,
Dane Bevell doubled to right field to bring in
Blake Estabrook and
Trey Petite for a final score of 15-0.0
Coach's Thoughts
"[I am] proud of our guys for the work they did in both games today," said head Matthew Wolfenbarger. "
Logan Suggs and
Brady Jones did an awesome job as starting pitchers for us today. The defense played really well in both games as well as the offense. It's hard to lose when all parts of the game are clicking."
Up Next
The Owls will take on Crowley's Ridge in a four-game series starting Friday, March 19. The first pitch will be thrown at 4 p.m.
